Weird and Wonderful: 9 Bizarre Spiders

Into the wild

Spiders are everywhere, and if you're an arachnophobe, chances are you're not too thrilled to hear that. There are more than 45,000 known species of spiders in the world, and they can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

Most spiders have four pairs of eyes and, of course, their characteristic 8 legs, which make them easy to spot. But, spiders come in all shapes and sizes, and many have some unusual features that set them apart, whether it's their web-spinning abilities, what they like to eat or their strange mating habits.

Here are nine of the most bizarre spiders in the world.

Bat-eating spiders

Photo Credit: Photo by Yasunori Maezono, Kyoto University, Japan

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Bat-eating spiders

Spiders famously dine on flies, but there are actually quite a few that prefer a heftier meal. According to researchers, bat-eating spiders can be found all over the world, but around 90 percent of them live in warmer climates. A common bat-killer is the Nephila pilipes spider, or Giant Golden Orb Weaver, which regularly catches bats in its web. These spiders can be found in many countries, including Australia, Japan and India. And females of this species can grow up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) long — much larger than the males.

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Spider the size of a puppy

Photo Credit: Piotr Naskrecki

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Spider the size of a puppy

The creature that is believed to be the largest spider in the world is quite rightly called the South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) from Guyana. This mammoth spider's leg span can reach nearly 12 inches (30 cm), or about the size of a child's forearm, and can weigh about the same as a puppy, scientists have said. You would probably hear this monster coming, as researchers have described the clicking noise its feet make as being similar to "a horse's hooves hitting the ground."

And if you hear this, it’s probably a good idea to run, because the Goliath's 0.8-inch-long (2 cm) fangs can issue a nasty bite. Despite the name, Goliath birdeaters don’t normally feed on birds, but they are certainly capable, and will attack basically anything they encounter, scientists said.

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Some are kinky

Photo Credit: Alissa Anderson

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Some are kinky

The steamy novel "Fifty Shades of Grey," by E. L. James, may not describe exploits in the spider world, but long-legged nursery-web spiders have a rather unconventional mating method that could rival anything in James' bestseller. Males wrap silk around a female's legs before and during their encounter. Scientists think this could be a survival tactic, because female spiders are partial to a snack after doing the deed, and unfortunately males are often the closest thing at the time. There are 355 different species of nursery-web spider, but the Pisaurina mira is found along the eastern seaboard of the United States, and west toward Texas, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

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Dracula spider?

Photo Credit: Mark Wong

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Author Bio

Lindsay Dodgson, Live Science Contributor

Lindsay is a contributing writer for Live Science who enjoys covering anything about animals, the environment and new research and technologies. She currently lives in London, where she studied science journalism at City University, and she also has a bachelor's degree in Zoology. Lindsay enjoys keeping fit with boxing, reading thriller novels and would love to travel back to Africa to go on another safari. Follow her on Twitter.